Chapter 36

Shattered World

"Why is it that every time you're in here it's because you're involved with some predicament?" Ozpin said with a hint of annoyance.

"I don't know sir." Roman responded. He was sitting in a chair in Ozpin's office. His skin was pale and he knew he looked like crap. He had not slept all night. He was too worried about what was going to happen to Ruby. He hung his head in a combination of tiredness and resignation.

"It has gotten to the point that it is no longer appearing to be a coincidence. Are you aware of that?"

"Quite sir."

"Then can you please explain to me why you have assault and battery charges filed against you for attacking law enforcement officers?"

Roman smiled mischievously. "Well to tell you the truth that was a team effort." He said looking back fondly upon the acts of violence he committed last night.

"We're dealing with Ms. Xiao Long, Ms. Belladonna and Ms. Schnee later today. Right now they're detained to their dorm room. Please focus upon answering the questions only pertaining to you. Why did you attack the officers?"

Roman brought his hands into the air and played the innocent card. "I felt as if I had no other choice. They were trying to take Ruby away."

Ozpin took another sip of his mug and brought it down forcibly. His glare told Roman that he was done playing games. In a slightly sterner tone he said "They were going to take her in for questioning."

Roman felt himself grow hot. "They were trying to convince her that this is her fault. Stuff like 'What were you wearing?' as if she was asking for it. I couldn't let that stand." He said raising his voice.

"I'll deal with them and their disgusting behavior later. Right now I want to know your opinion on the story."

"My opinion! You want my fucking opinion?! This is rape culture!"

"Mr. Cyan please take your seat and calm down. I'm-"

"I will not calm down! Ruby is in jail right now because she defended herself from someone trying to rape her! Don't you think she's been through enough already that she doesn't need to suffer any more?! How is any of this justice?!" Yelled Roman as he slammed his fist down on the table.

It echoed around the room sending it into silence. Ozpin took a deep breath before saying. "Mr. Cyan I have no doubt that she believed she was telling the truth when she told her story to the authorities. But that doesn't change the evidence stacked against her."

"What evidence?!"

"The video tapes. They tell a story that is very different from Ms. Rose's."

Roman raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. "What? How?"

"Unfortunately the videotape footage we have shows no confrontation between the two. Mr. Winchester remained at least twenty feet away from her at all times. He said nothing aggravating and even expressed some minor concern over Ms. Rose. The closest he got was when he asked if everything was alright."

"He tried to rape her!"

"The evidence we have suggests otherwise. Ms. Rose was the first to strike and did so preemptively. This fits her into the qualifications to be charged with murder."

Roman stood up breathing heavily. He felt like a bull about to charge some unfortunate passerby. "I want to see the footage."

"Mr. Cyan please understand that this is sensitive material-"

"I WANT TO SEE THE FOOTAGE!"

Ozpin sighed and motioned for Roman to join him behind his holographic monitor. "Alright, here it is."

Roman watched the footage like a scholar, searching for anything that would hint at Emerald being involved. Cinder said that Emerald was going to do something and this was the only thing that happened to Ruby last night. But Ozpin was right. The video clearly showed that Cardin was just walking along when Ruby started yelling and pulled out her weapon and shot him.

But one thing stuck out. There was a thin band of green in the bottom left hand corner. It was a bright mint green. An emerald green.

"Emerald." He whispered.

"Excuse me?"

"Emerald Sustrai. Right there." He pointed. "It looks like her hair."

Ozpin leaned forward and straightened his glasses. "I can see why you think that. But this could simply be a glitch in the system. What made you think of Ms. Sustrai?"

"I think she's involved somehow."

"Why do you say that?"

"I just do alright? My instincts are telling me so."

"Your instincts?"

"Could you please just look into her for me? Please sir?"

Ozpin looked into Roman's eyes for a short second before letting out a sigh. "Very well. I'll have it be a personal investigation. In the meantime I still have to hand this video over to the authorities."

Roman stared off into the distance thinking to himself but Ozpin must have seen the concern in his face because a short second later he said "There is one solution that can save her from being put upon death row."

With a grave expression he continued. "It is clear that her mental stability was very weak during the event. I have received multiple cases of people coming to me in concern over her recent changes in mood whether good or bad. We could save her from the chair if we get her to plead not guilty by insanity."

"What?!"

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

"No! She's not crazy! Can't you do something to fix this? Don't you have enough power that by the wave of your hand you can do anything?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"That's bullshit! You were able to cover up the entire event of when Cardin attacked Ruby and I ran in to save her. You were able to hide that from the public even though there were plenty of witnesses. How can you not be able to fix this? Surely you have something you can do?" Roman pleaded.

Ozpin took off his glasses and closes his eyes. "I wish I could. Really I do. Unfortunately with the increased tensions of the four kingdoms any use of power would be put under scrutiny. Roman Torchwick's attack on Mistral has everything too on edge. I have already exerted all of my power trying to keep civil order. I have nothing left to wield in this unfortunate case. There are limits to even what I can do. I'm sorry."

Roman felt like the world was slipping through his fingers. Ruby was his everything and yet he could do nothing but watch as her life fell apart because of him. He wracked his brain for something to explain their plan. Ruby must have seen something that was not real. Even though her eyes were glossy like with Neo, this was different than her memory insertions. Ruby saw an illusion that allowed her to still move in real time. She was living a nightmare.

But why go through all this? Emerald could have easily killed Ruby. Why did she not if she had every ability to? Mercury said something about her liking to play with… Her food… "Damn it! I won't let this stand!" Roman snarled.

Ozpin returned the harsher tone to say "Mr. Cyan I want her out of there as much as you do. But I-"

"No you don't!" Roman yelled. He stormed off from the table and walked to the elevator. "There's something seriously fucked up with society if it's okay to punish victims of sexual assault.

Even if it was a hallucination, SO FUCKING WHAT?! She still saw someone try to use her and that's an experience no human being should ever have happen to them. She should be surrounded by friends and family trying to console and help her instead of her being imprisoned. The fact that you can't see how fucked up this is concerns me about your eligibility to lead. Besides, I'm not talking about her being arrested. I have to get going."

"This meeting isn't over. You can't just lea-"

"I'll do whatever the hell I want. I'm not going to sit around and wait for things to get better. I need to take matters into my own hands."

Ozpin remained silent until Roman almost made it out before he said "Mr. Cyan why are you afraid?"

Roman froze in his tracks. He turned his head around slowly and said "Why am I afraid? Only because the one person in this world who means more to me than anything else's life is in danger."

"I assure you that at least a week will pass before Vale's police department will do anything."

"If I'm right, and I pray to God that I'm not, then Ruby won't be alive by the end of the week."

Ozpin squinted and leaned forward to say "What do you think is going to happen?"

Roman felt hot with his pent up energy fuming in him. He opened the elevator and right before he closed the doors he said "I'd love to answer your questions but I'm running out of time. I apologize in advance for anything destructive I may do."

Roman went back to his dorm room and packed his things as fast as he could. He knew that however things went he was likely not ever coming back. He looked at the cleared, blank room and thought of the many memories he made here. He would make sure he did not forget any of them anytime soon.

It did not take long to get to the police station. Slung over his right shoulder was his bag carrying his supplies from Beacon. In his left hand he held a bouquet of roses that he picked up from a street vendor. He found it fitting that they were roses but it did little to appease his nerves. He wanted to do something nice and it would serve as a perfect alibi for what he was about to do. He walked up to the woman at the front desk and asked "I would like to visit an inmate please."

He felt absolutely horrible saying it. It should have been the other way around. He should have been the one in a cell. He wished that their roles were reversed. At least he deserved it. He was the one who beat several police officers unconscious. Of course he could not have done it without the help of Ruby's team. They had stood together to protect Ruby until she surrendered herself. The look of defeat on her face had hurt more than any scar of his. He then shook his head to clear his thoughts and looked at the woman. She never moved.

Roman eyebrows furrowed and he snapped his fingers by her face a few times. She remained just as unresponsive as before. Then he noticed the glossy look in her eyes. The glossy look in her eyes.

Neo.

He gasped and dropped the flowers and the bag. His heartbeat spiked and he felt the blood drain from his face. Goosebumps covered him and he broke out into a cold sweat. He put one foot forward but almost collapsed. His stomach heaved but he forced himself to keep moving forward. His slow stagger gradually increased into a full out sprint with every glossy eyed guard he passed. He snatched several sets of keys to get past several security doors.

He turned around a final corner into the juvenile wing and he saw the two of them. Neo was looking at Emerald with a face of disgust while Emerald stood in front of the cell. He heard Ruby's bloodcurdling scream echo through the halls. He felt hot. He began breathing heavily. His teeth began grinding so hard he could almost taste ground enamel. A low, animalistic growl erupted from the bottom of his throat as he charged forward. His growl slowly developed into a full-fledged battle cry when his vision turned red.

Emerald turned from her laughing fit at the last second to see his bull charge. She sidestepped his main lunge but some of her shoulder got hit and she flew sideways against the opposite wall of cells. Roman turned around and aimed another charge but this time armed with his hunting knife. He wished he had not dropped his bag which held his staff but he would not complain about the knife. After all he wanted to skin her alive for the amount of pain she brought Ruby.

Metal collided with metal as she parried his knife and brought her other revolver-sickle down on him. He had nothing to use to stop the blade so he caught it with his left hand. He ignored the pain and bleeding in his hand and stared at her eye to eye. The two of them were caught in gridlock with neither side holding back.

Emerald had a deranged look to her. It was as if she was finally releasing her inner self, or in this case her inner monster.

She grinned a toothy smile. With a chuckle she said "You really thought you could stop this didn't you? This is hilarious. Look at her."

Roman glanced over for a second to see Ruby. Ruby's eyes were so glossy they almost looked dead. She was curled into a fetal position in the corner. Her eyes had a never ending stream of tears and her screams never stopped. To hear her in pain made him feel as if his heart was ripped out of his chest.

He turned back to Emerald when she began laughing. "You're too late. You know, most people I've done this to weren't so responsive. She must have a lot to fear to see whatever she is. But this is great. I can drag this out for as long as I could ever want. As long as I'm alive then the vision will go on forever and ever and-"

A peculiar sound interrupted her. It sounded kind of like a cross between someone squeezing an over-saturated sponge and someone stepping on eggshells. It originated from Emerald. Both of them contorted their faces in confusion and looked down to see the end of a thin blade sticking out of her left breast. They could see the thin glow of her aura desperately trying to heal the puncture to her heart. Emerald looked into his eyes with rage but when she tried to speak she choked on her own blood and collapsed. Behind her stood a furious Neo holding the hilt of the blade.

[Rot in hell you fucking cunt.] She signed to Emerald's body.

Roman wasted no time in unlocking Ruby's cell with one of the keys he "borrowed" from a frozen guard and swept her into his arms. He held her as tight as he could and could not help himself from crying. Out of fear or relief he did not know but it did not matter: Ruby was safe.

"R-R-Roman?" She quivered while looking up at him. The glossiness was gone and so was the illusion.

He started kissing away her tears. "I'm here Ruby. The nightmare's over."

She shoved her head against his chest and cried out "I thought you were dead!"

"Whatever you saw wasn't real."

"It felt real. It felt too real."

The two of them stood there holding onto each other for dear life. Roman turned his head to the side and snapped "Neo explain this now!"

[Look I didn't want anything to do with this. I had no idea about Emerald planting Ruby an illusion last night until this morning. I stumbled upon Emerald earlier today and I decided to tag along to see what happened. I was told to take care of the guards so I did. But when we got here… This is not what I expected. I knew that she was going to assassinate somebody but this is beyond inhumane. Torturing someone into suicide… She wanted Ruby to bite off her own tongue. If you hadn't have come I was going to kill her anyway.]

Roman could barely control himself. Emerald was going to torture Ruby into committing suicide? He wanted Emerald to get up just so he could kill her over and over again. He let out in a harsh whisper "Don't you see it Neo? What they're willing to do? Why Cinder must be stopped?"

[I'm sorry Roman. You may be willing to switch sides but I'm not yet. Even with what I just saw. But don't take this as a betrayal. You mean more to me than Cinder by several leagues. I'll give her a lie that she'll believe to make her think you don't mean anything to me anymore. But this is just my way of life and I'm not ready to give up on it yet. Don't worry though; I'll make sure to halt any attempt to find you. I'll give you regular updates on her plans. When the final battle comes then we'll see what side I choose.]

"So this is it? That's your choice?"

[Yes.]

"Alright then… Take care Neo… I'll see you later and hopefully not on a battlefield."

[By the way Ruby's scythe is being held down the hall and on the first room on your right. You might want to pick that up.]

With that she was gone. Roman turned back to the shaking Ruby in his arms. The amount of pain she had to go through had to be unimaginable. But he needed to get her out of here before anyone else showed up. "Ruby I know now is a bad time but we need to go. I have several locations where we can hide and they'll never find us."

She let out a pained whisper. "I need to see my team."

"Don't you realize what just happened? They tried to kill you. You aren't safe here and you aren't safe at Beacon."

She glanced up at him with pain filled eyes. "If I'm going to go with you for who knows how long I need to say goodbye to my team. I owe them that much."

"Do you have any idea how much this increases the chances of us dying?!"

"I don't care."

Roman sighed a heavy sigh. "Fine. But you're going to be the death of me you know that right?"

She sniffled and looked up at him with a weak smile. "I know."

"Are you sure this will work?" Roman pestered.

Ruby threw another rock up at the window and said "It worked every time we snuck Sun into school."

"How do we even know they're in the ro-"

The windows to RWBY's room opened and one of the rocks they were throwing hit Weiss in the forehead. "OWWW!" She yelled. "Who threw a rock… Ruby!"

Roman took his grappling hook and threw it up at the base of the windowsill. He gave it a few good tugs before he motioned for Ruby to go first. She climbed her way up with him close behind. Just when he made it up he heard Weiss ask "Haven't you ever heard of using doors?"

"Doors… Are for people… With no imagination…" Roman panted. He stood back up and could not help but let a small smile creep across his face at the sight of the three girls hugging Ruby. He decided that he would leave them be and get to work. He took his bag that he picked up at the front of the police station and started going through Ruby's drawers looking for any clothes she would need.

Blake noticed what he was doing first and yelled "Why are you of all people going through her clothes. You don't get to see her underwear."

"I'm not searching for underwear. Actually hold on that's the only thing that's left so technically I am. Ruby do you want to take care of that yourself?"

Ruby broke up from the hug and said "Sure."

Yang asked "What's going on here? Ruby why are you still wearing orange jail clothes?" Yang's eyes opened wide as she realized what that meant. She turned towards Roman and said "You didn't…"

Roman picked up their desk and pressed it up against the door. "I did and I'm proud of it."

"How could you? Don't you realize how much more trouble this will-"

"Yang he saved me." Ruby interrupted. "Emerald visited me and tried to torture me into committing suicide."

Roman chimed in saying "She also gave Ruby the illusion that Cardin was trying to rape her."

Blake squinted her eyes and said "Why would Emerald-"

Roman grabbed their bookcase, ignoring all of the books falling out, and set it in front of their desk blocking the door even more. "Because Emerald works for the same people I used too."

Blake brought up her hands and clutched her head. Tears fell from her cheeks as she muttered "Oh my god. I told Emerald about your relationship. I didn't think they'd do anything. They just wanted information on finding Torchwick so it slipped. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Blake!" Yang yelled.

Weiss put her hands on her hips and said "Do you realize that this could've killed Ruby?!"

"I said I was sorry!"

Ruby rushed forward and gave Blake a big hug. "I forgive you."

Blake's frame tensed up as if the contact was foreign. "What?"

"I forgive you. You didn't know this would happen. Besides I kind of had it coming after lying to you so much."

"Ruby you didn't lie that much. You only covered up your relationship with Cobalt… Right?" Weiss said raising an eyebrow.

"Yang, Blake, Weiss, I'd like you all to meet my boyfriend Roman Torchwick." She leaned up to give Roman a quick kiss for good measure.

Everyone in the room froze. Roman looked into the eyes of her teammates and gave a weak smile. Their only response was Yang bringing out a very familiar looking set of hedge clippers. When she snapped them a few times he could feel his face grow pale.

He leaned down to whisper into Ruby's ear. "I thought we discussed that we'd bring this up in a much more opportune setting. Like when you're living on your own or when you're on your deathbed."

Ruby whispered back "If things go for the worst this may be the last time I see them. I don't want to have any regrets."

Roman let out a short, nervous laugh before he directed his attention to the other girls in the room. "I appreciate the gesture, really I do, but the clippers can wait for another time. Time is not on our side right now."

They remained frozen as if they never heard him. In fact they appeared not to even breathe; they only stared at the couple. Roman whispered again "They're not saying or doing anything."

"I'm right here, I can see that."

"Do you know why your sister's hair is on fire?"

"That happens time to time."

"As crazy as it sounds, they're taking this a lot better than I thought they wou-"

Roman was interrupted by the following series of actions. The rampage that ensued can only be described as a sinister concoction of unbridled violence with a side of unholy screaming.

Roman had recently learned to look at the positive side of life and believed that now was a good time to apply it. When they all go for your throat, there's only enough room for one to attack.

Specifically, a fiery-haired blond standing over where he now lay who was trying to make good use of those hedge clippers by trying to sever his head. They were at stalemate with the blade hovering inches above his neck while Ruby was doing her best to hold off Weiss and Blake.

"STOP IT! ALL OF YOU!" Ruby screamed off the top of her lungs. Her outburst bought enough time to push Weiss and Blake back while pushing the clippers to the side. With Roman no longer pushing back, the clippers embedded themselves in the wooden flooring next to him. Just before the three could make another attack, Ruby jumped in front of Roman, who was still trying to get up, and outstretched her arms.

"Please stop! I know you are feeling upset, I would be too. But we don't have time to fight about this."

"Get out of the way Ruby!" Yang growled. "As soon as I'm done with him we are going to have a serious talk young lady!"

"If you actually give a damn about me AT ALL, then you'd listen to me right now because it might be your last chance to do so!"

That shut them up. Relishing in every second of his prolonged existence, Roman said "She's right, we don't have much time."

"What do you mean?" Blake hesitantly asked.

"Considering my boss knows about my relationship with Ruby, and Emerald hasn't reported in yet, they're likely to assume Emerald is dead. And they would be right. But that means that there are reinforcements heading our way as we speak. We need to leave within the next five minutes."

Weiss gave a questioning glare and asked "So who's coming after you?"

"Mercury, the White Fang, mercenaries, a god, who knows? But I don't plan on staying long enough to find out."

They heard something slam against the door and then heard Mercury yell "I know you're in there! Get out here now or I'm coming in!"

"Speak of the devil there he is. Whelp that's our cue that it's time to start heading off."

Yang directed her attention to Ruby. She took a deep breath trying to calm herself and come to terms with the situation. Anyone could see her mental struggle with grasping the situation. Hesitantly, she asked "How long do you plan on being gone?"

"I don't know."

"But you're my little sister. How am I supposed to entrust this man with your life?"

"He betrayed his boss and the White Fang. He wants to switch to our side."

"Can't you talk this through with Ozpin?!"

Roman gave out a short laugh. "Yeah right. I talked to him earlier and he said he didn't have the power to free Ruby. What makes you think that he'll have the power to pardon me? Not to mention that he's failed at protecting his students."

"There has to be some other way!"

Ruby sighed and said "If there is then we'll come up with it later. Right now we don't have time. Roman knows these people the best and I think I'd be safer with him."

Yang, Blake, and Weiss all hung their heads in realization that nothing they could do would change Ruby's mind. She really was leaving.

The sound of whatever was ramming the door was steadily growing louder. Roman pulled at his collar and said with mild urgency "Ruby we need to get going."

Ruby grabbed her teammates and pulled them into a group hug. "I'm really, really sorry to spring this on all of you so fast. I don't know how long I'll be gone or even if I'll see any of you ever again. But I love you all and I'll miss you."

"How can we trust that you'll be safe if you don't know if you can come back?" Yang whispered.

Roman was now pushing against the shaking door. "Because I'll die before I allow another person to harm her. I swear my life on that."

Roman stared into Yang's red eyes when she said "You better bring her back. If not I'll track you down and won't hold back with the clippers."

"If I can't bring her back I'll find you and do the honors myself."

Blake gave him a questioning look and said "Why are you doing this? Why are you of all people risking their life to save a huntress?"

"Why? It might seem like a stupid answer but the truth is that I finally have something to fight for. With Ruby's help I've learned to let go of my desire for revenge. I finally see light in this world and it all sprouts from her. I love her."

"Just out of curiosity, how old are you?" Yang interjected.

"Younger than you think but older than you'd like."

"That's not an answer." Weiss said bluntly.

Ruby turned around to defend Roman. "I know but I don't view him as a number. I see him for who he is." She ran forward to give him a small squeeze of a hug.

"A criminal?" Said Weiss crossing her arms.

Roman raised his index finger to refute. "An ex-criminal, thank you very much."

"This is still concerning."

"Jesus Christ why must everyone make such a big deal about this? Look we can debate the morality of this another time when there's not a door being the only thing separating us from an assassin. Ruby did you get all the clothes and things you want to bring?"

"Yeah but I couldn't find my storybook."

Roman pulled it out of his jacket and said with a smile "Already had it covered. I didn't want you to forget it."

She grabbed it and held it against her chest. "Thank you." She whispered.

Roman pulled a flash drive out of one of his many pockets and tossed it at Weiss. "What's this?" She asked.

"It contains all of the information I have access to on the White Fang and their operations. I don't know the full plan but there's enough on that to be a good punch to the gut. I included my plans of all of my previous attacks which should show that I have some human decency. Just make sure it gets put to good use. I don't have enough resources to bring down my boss on my own."

Blake stared at him up and down like she just now noticed he was in the room with them. "So…. You're actually helping us?"

"Gee it only took you this long to figure that out?"

Ruby glared at him and said "Roman…"

"You know I don't act well when I'm stressed."

"Roman I have some things I need to say first then we can go."

"Alright but keep in mind that Mercury isn't here for tea. He's stopped for now but he's probably getting help."

Ruby turned towards Weiss and brought her into a hug. "Weiss, I know that we started off pretty rough but I'm glad we became friends. You've grown up so much since I first met you. You should be proud of yourself and keep doing what you are."

Ruby broke up her hug with Weiss to give Blake one of her own. "Blake, I know you of all people don't trust Roman. You have every reason to. But what I'm saying isn't some fantasy or lie or trick. He really has changed. I'm sorry for lying to you. I've known who he was for a while now. I know that you're probably furious at me but please don't push yourself too hard to get me back. We all have our limits and we all need to rest sometimes. Just take care of yourself."

Finally came Yang. Ruby fumbled awkwardly before finally taking a deep breath to say "Yang, I want to apologize. I'm sorry that I never came to you. I'm sorry I never told you that I felt like I was trapped. Don't blame yourself for anything that happens. This is my life and my choice to make. I knew that there were risks staying with him. I knew that I was playing with fire. Now I've finally gotten burned. If I don't come back-"

Yang closed the distance between them and brought her into a loving embrace. "No! Don't say such a thing! You're coming back, I know you are."

Ruby hugged back and said "Yang please. This is hard enough for me already. I want to thank you. For everything. Whether it was when we were kids or even now you've always done what you thought was best for me. That's something I won't ever forget. I love you Yang."

"I love you too, Ruby."

Roman could not help but sniffle from the display of emotion before him. It most certainly did not help ease his feeling of guilt. He blamed himself for all that was happening.

"Oh look, the monster has a heart." Weiss scoffed.

Roman blinked away anything resembling a tear and said "Speak for yourself Ice Queen. Speak for yourself."

"Alright, I've said what I needed to. I'm ready to go. Goodbye everyone." Said a teary eyed Ruby as she started climbing down the rope hanging from their window.

Roman made sure to check that she made it down safely before he turned to her teammates. They all held tears in their eyes and were glaring daggers at him. He looked at the ground and sighed unable to face their menacing gaze. "No words can express how sorry I am. I know that none of you trust me and I understand why. You have every reason to. But I will sacrifice everything, even my life if I must, to make sure she makes it back to you all safely. I promise."

Blake wiped her face with the back of her hand before saying coldly "How do we know you'll actually keep that promise? I was right about who you are. You're Torchwick. A liar, cheater, thief and murderer."

"I will keep my promise because I do whatever it takes to survive. Even if that means that I must lie, cheat, steal or kill."

Weiss put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side. "And that answers the question, how?"

Roman ignored her question until he was far enough down the rope that he was about out of eyesight from where they stood. He looked up one last time to say "Because I can't survive without her." He slid down the rope to look into silver, teary eyes.

"What did you say?" Ruby asked.

"Some words of encouragement."

"Alright. Are you ready?"

Roman assumed the position that Ruby had told him earlier. He rolled his eyes and asked "Must we travel like this?"

She looked back once to give a weak smile. "Come on Ginger Snaps. If you ride on my back while I use my semblance then I can make sharper turns and stop on a dime without hurting you."

"But it looks really weird."

"What do you mean?"

"It looks like I'm humping you."

"...It does?"

"Yes."

"Well I'll just have to run fast enough that nobody can see us. Hold on tight."

"You know could we discuss this fur-"

His words were stripped from his mouth as Ruby began sprinting off at the speed of a bullet heading towards one of Roman's safe houses.

Ruby followed the instructions that Roman gave to her. They ended up stopping in a grimy alleyway. Ruby watched where she stepped because she could not tell if what she was stepping on was mud or something far more disgusting. Eventually they reached a gap in the building that revealed the door to a locked underground shelter. While Roman played with the keys Ruby had that eerie feeling of something watching her. Something ethereal like a ghost or a memory.

"Roman do you think you can hurry it up?" Ruby whispered while darting her eyes around in the shadows.

"Come on I know I have the key on me… There got it."

It opened with an overly loud creek that did not help their attempt at secrecy. Roman walked down a few steps to gesture for her to follow. She walked down into the darkness only to have the door slam shut behind her making her jump. It was pitch black and reeked of dust and mold.

"Where is that cursed light switch… Aha! Here it is."

Even with the single light on it hardly illuminated the room at all. It had a cold concrete flooring with eroding concrete brick walls. In the center were several shelves of preserved food that looked like they had been down there for half a century. This scenery did nothing to ease the sounds of dripping water combined with the crawling of who knows what.

"You live down here?" She whispered.

"Goodness no! Well, at least not in a long while."

He walked confidently over to a bookcase in the far corner that he pushed out of the way. Behind it held a rusty door to an elevator. He pressed the button to go up but nothing lit up.

"I think you have to-"

"Give it time. Trust me it will be worth it."

With a sharp ding the doors opened to show a decently furnished elevator with soothing music playing in the background. Ruby would not refer to it as well made but compared to the basement it was a palace.

When the doors open again Ruby gasped. What was once a palace was now a shabby hut compared to the throne room of God that lay before her. Everything was new. Everything was shiny. Everything was of the colors red, orange, white and black. To her right was a floor to ceiling window that stretched outwards and even curved around to form the wall in front of her. To her left was a well-furnished kitchen with a sidebar as a dining table, a hallway leading to who knows what and a double door leading to what appeared to be a bedroom. In front of her lay an impression that went down two steps. It held two couches and chairs centered around a main coffee table on dark polished wooden flooring.

"Welcome to my humble abode. I can almost guarantee that nobody will find us here. Almost… But that's beside the point. This should be a prime place of operations for bringing down Cinder. What do you think?"

"I think you have a lot of money. This kind of goes against my idea of you being poor."

"Well when you have my career you never live long so I decided that I would live life to the fullest. I realize things may be a little over the top but do make yourself at home. The bed is yours and I'll be sleeping on the couch if you so wish. If you would excuse me I need to take care of something really quick. I'll be back in a few minutes."

With that he walked into the bedroom and shut the door. Ruby sat herself down on one of the couches and set her stuff down next to her. She had to admit that she was pleasantly surprised. She really did think that they would be staying in the basement. Instead she was at a five-star suite on the top floor. It made her feel like she was some queen, not a runaway criminal.

"Ah, yes. This is sooooo much better." She heard Roman say from behind her.

Ruby turned around and giggled. He was dressed in his normal Roman Torchwick apparel with his white suit and gray scarf. She had become so used to seeing him wear that blue trenchcoat that anything else made him look ridiculous.

"What's so funny?"

"You're wearing that."

He walked over to the kitchen while saying "Well sorry I like to stick to the classics. I prefer this over that blasted trenchcoat any day."

Ruby let him be and began studying her surroundings again. There was one thing in particular that he appeared to be missing. "Roman? Where's your TV? I want to see if there's been any new White Fang attacks so we could try to find a pattern."

"First of all as a man who has the White Fang's plans for the next month I can guarantee you that there should be nothing. Also, even if there was couldn't you just look it up on your scroll?"

"Yeah but it's not the same. So where's the TV?"

"Don't have one." He said bluntly.

Ruby turned around to stare at him with her mouth open. Roman must have noticed her silence because he turned from taking inventory to say "Open that mouth any wider and I'll mop the floor with it."

"How can you not have a TV?"

"Everything on television is complete garbage. You are aware that everything open to the media is run by six companies right? They collaborate together to limit what the public has access to."

"You sound like a conspiracy theorist."

"It's not a theory when it's true. Besides why do you need a television? You didn't have one in your room. You used your scroll to watch whatever you wanted. I don't see how a thirty six inch larger screen is going to help that much."

"It's just not the same."

"Please tell me how because I'm bewildered as to how it's oh so different."

Ruby turned away from him unable to look at him. She stared at the ground as some bittersweet memories flooded into her mind. He deserved an answer but she was not going to spill everything. Otherwise she knew she would start crying again. "It reminds me of home. Back when I lived with my dad on Patch we would always have a TV on at all times so we would know immediately if my mom had been found. She never was."

He did not respond for a good minute before he finally said "Damn. I didn't know. Look I'll see what I can do about a television tomorrow. Would you like spaghetti tonight? I hope you do because everything else I have is spoiled."

She knew he was trying to change the subject but welcomed it. "Sure."

Taking the clanging of pots and pans as a sign that he was going to be busy for a while, Ruby grabbed her stuff and checked out the bedroom. It was really large with a queen sized bed with an outcrop to the right and a very large bathroom to the left. On either side of the bed were closets. Ruby opened one to find twelve different copies of his regular outfit as well as seven hats placed up above. She checked the tags and laughed when she saw he had one for every day of the week.

She moved on and found another one that had been emptied likely for her. She hung up all her stuff, changed her clothes, and then decided to walk out onto the outcrop. It was closed off so there was privacy but open enough that there was still a nice breeze. Ruby walked over to the fenced edge and looked down. She backed away instantly with the confirmation that they were in fact very high.

But she felt the pull of temptation. Something crept out of her darker side. Something that was telling her to jump. It replayed the horrors she was forced to see by the hand of Emerald. She knew that it was not real but that did not make it feel any less real. All of the pain, the worrying, the sadness. It was all telling her that one jump could end it all. One jump and she could be free from the pain.

Ruby ran back inside hyperventilating. She slumped to the ground against the glass door. Shaking her head a few times she felt a little better but it did nothing to ease her wave of nausea. That was more than just a minor thought. She was more scared of herself now than anyone else. She had to tell someone. The obvious answer was Roman but she did not want to bother him. He just betrayed what he referred to as a god so he probably had enough on his mind already. She did not need to add herself to that list of worries. She was strong. She was brave. She could deal with this herself.

She could deal with this herself.

She could deal with this herself.

She could deal with this herself.

"Ruby! Dinner's ready!" Roman called out. He did not know where she was but the elevator never opened so there was no way she could have left. The front door was locked from the inside with a key only he held and he could feel it in his pocket. He made two bowls and sat them down on the sidebar where he had eaten countless meals alone. He was fortunate that at least once he was able to have some company. It would be a nice change.

A few minutes passed and he began to worry. With her appetite she would not be one to miss a meal. He got up from where he was waiting for her and checked in his other rooms. She was not in his laundry or computer room. He doubted she found the hidden exit to the roof. He left to check the bedroom but when he got there he saw the light under the door of the bathroom. He breathed a sigh of relief that was short lived when he heard the noises coming from it. He heard the whine of a soft sob.

He lightly knocked and said "Ruby? Are you alright?"

His only answer was the familiar sound of someone throwing up.

He tried to keep his cool but he could not ignore that his hands were shaking. "If you're sick then I can help. I can make you some tea, prepare a damp washcloth to cool you off or I can get any amount of blankets you could want. Just please open the door and let me try to help."

He heard the sound of her feet hitting the tile and the pacing told him that it was a slow and uneasy walk. The door opened with a loud creek that reflected the sound of his heart being torn to shreds. Ruby stood before him but he could hardly recognize her. She was hunched over and panting as if she finished running a marathon. Her eyes looked dark and hurt. Her skin was pale and he could see a combination of cold sweat and tears steadily running down her face. He stood there frozen wondering what could have happened to her in the short half hour that he was preparing dinner.

Before he could say anything she leaned forward to embrace him but her legs gave out beneath her. Roman dropped to his knees to catch her and she laid limp in his arms. He held her as tight as he could while she lay crying into his shoulder. He could feel her shaking and breathing short, rushed breaths. He carefully brushed her hair and rubbed her back to make up for his loss of words.

She spoke quietly in a pained whisper. "I couldn't deal with it by myself."

"Deal with what?" He asked in the most calming voice he could make.

"The pain. Why must everything hurt so much?"

"You're preaching to the choir here." He muttered.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to bother you."

"Ruby you are never a bother to me. I'm serious on this. I love you and everything about you. If you have a problem then it becomes my problem too. If something is hurting you this much then I need to know."

His only response was Ruby wiping off some tears on his jacket before looking up at him. Her eyes told him all he needed to know.

"It's everything Emerald showed you isn't it?"

She nodded gently and brought her face back into his chest.

"You can tell me anything you know. It doesn't matter how dark or horrible, how angering or infuriating, or how sad or mopey it is. I will never hold anything against you."

Roman sighed after a few minutes of neither of them moving or saying anything. He picked her up bridal style, grabbed a tissue box, and sat down on the couch. He made sure that if she laid back she would have pillows to rest her head on. For the moment she seemed content to hide her face in his white suit. He was willing to wait though. He would wait as long as it took.

When he thought to himself that he would wait as long as it took it never occurred to him that it would take that long. When he finally woke up the windows in front of him revealed the kingdom of Vale shining in all its glory, bringing light to the world immersed by the darkness of the night. He could not help but smile at the memory of when he first traveled with her using her semblance. Since then he had grown to find the lights beautiful.

He brought his head down to look at her but stopped when his chin pressed up against the top of her head. She had her head nestled against his neck and she was sitting in his lap on her side. His arms were by his side and he brought them up to wrap them around her.

"You're awake."

He gasped and tried to calm his breathing. Had she not been laying on him, she would have sent him jumping out of his seat.

"I'm sorry I scared you." She said in a calm voice. Almost too calm.

"No problem at all." He breathed out. "A good scare is always healthy for the lungs."

"Your heart's racing."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"I tried to commit suicide."

Roman's eyes bulged wide while he felt his blood freeze. What was once a warm room, now reminded of having to sleep on a sidewalk in a blizzard. He became afraid to breathe much less move.

"Roman remember to breathe."

"Of-of-of course."

Roman sat there frozen. His mind went blank. He did not know what to say or how to say it. But it felt like she was waiting on him so he very awkwardly said "We-Well I'm glad it failed."

"Smooth Roman. Real smooth. That was about as smooth as sandpaper. You wiped your own ass with sandpaper." He thought to himself.

Roman at this point was talking in almost indistinguishable rambles. "That sounded really bad Ruby I'm so sorry! I just didn't know what to say. I'm so afraid. The idea that I could've lost you is just too much to bear. I'm sorry if I caused this. Please don't leave me yet, you showed me light in this world. Ican'tlivewithoutyou. Iloveyou.-"

"Roman… Please breathe."

"Ruby I'm so sorry. I'll do whatever-"

"Roman…"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Just… Don't go… Keep breathing… Your heartbeat is relaxing…"

Roman felt the first of many tears fall when he said "I'll do whatever you want. Just please promise me you won't try to do that again."

"...I promise."

"Now for my following questions, please be honest?"

"Okay."

"Do I need to get you medical attention?"

"No."

"Are you at least safe for tonight?"

"Yes."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Alright, we can discuss this more tomorrow. You will still be here tomorrow, right?"

"Yes."

Roman really wanted to talk about it right then and there but he felt as if neither Ruby nor himself had the strength to do so. Ruby sounded like she could fall asleep any minute and he felt like he was on the verge of a meltdown. They needed to rest before they could appropriately discuss this. "Do you want to go to bed?"

"Only if you go with me."

Roman picked her up again and ignored his wobbling legs as he took her into the bedroom. The moonlight lit the room with its cold radiance and reflected how he felt inside. Ruby looked exceptionally pale but alive. He tried to set her down to change but she never let go of him. "I'm still in my day clothes." He said.

"I don't care."

That was the end of it. Roman plopped down next to her and brought the covers up over them. As soon as he did he felt her snuggle into him, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face into his neck.

"Roman…" She murmured.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"For being you. For being my lifeline. For reminding me of why I want to live."

Roman closed his eyes and croaked as he tried to stifle a cry. "It was no trouble at all."

He returned her embrace and held her as tight as he could. He held onto her tighter than anything else he ever had. He made sure to stay up until he felt her breathing on his neck slow down into the steady rhythm of sleep. Roman decided he would stay up the entire night to watch over her in case she needed anything. All the while, he was much too aware of both the dangers that threatened them out in the world and within their own mind.